The Ace of Spades
The Ace of Spades is a short story which first appeared in the large format hardback anthology The Cockpit in 1934. It was subsequently collected with other Johns stories in The Raid in 1935. Much later it was included with some other Biggles WW1 era stories (from The Camels are Coming) in Biggles of the Special Air Police in 1953. Synopsis Biggles agrees to a camera-gun duel with Wilks but is bounced by an enemy Fokker. Not having any ammunition, Biggles is forced to evade rather than fight his attacker. Unfortunately the one-sided combat has been observed by a General who angrily accuses him of cowardice. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Biggles visits Wilks at 287 Squadron and gets into the inevitable argument about which is better, the S.E.5 or the Sopwith Camel. Wilks persuades Biggles to take part in a camera gun duel. Biggles agrees. His guns are unloaded, a camera gun is mounted, and he takes off for the mock combat. Unfortunately, on the way, he is attacked by an orange and black Fokker D.VIII with a large ace of spades painted on the side. Without any ammunition, he is forced to take evasive action and ends up crashing his plane in a field. Unfortunately for Biggles, Brigadier-General Sir Hales-Morier has seen the entire affair and drives up to reprimand Biggles. That orange and black Fokker had been causing a lot of trouble lately, and yet not once had Biggles attempt to return fire. He had instead, run away. He orders Biggles to return to his unit. Back at 266, Mullen tells Biggles he has let him down. The General intends to post Biggles to Home Establishment and wants a report by 6.30. Mullen asks for Biggles' own report by 5. Biggles is stung and furious to be doubted by his own C.O. He borrows Algy's Camel and heads for 287 to tell Wilks what had happened. He refuses Wilks' offer to explain things to Mullen and takes off moodily. A puff of smoke from a friendly anti-aircraft gun warns him that an enemy aircraft is nearby. Awakened from his momemtary inattention, he spots the enemy but pretends he has not seen him yet. He allows the enemy to close in on him before taking violent evasive action. The enemy's surprise allows Biggles to get into an advantages position and he presses the attack. Only then does he realise that it is the same orange and black Fokker that had humiliated him earlier in the day. Biggles shoots down the Fokker and hands a piece of the Fokker's fabric with the ace of spades to Mullen. This will be his report. It should, he says, speak plainer than words. Characters *Biggles *Major Mullen *Major Paynter *Algy *Wilks *Brigadier-General Sir Hales-Morier Aircraft *Sopwith Camel *S.E.5 *Fokker D.VII, in a later edition Fokker D.VIII Places Visited Mentioned Editorial Changes *The text of the story remains largely unchanged between the different editions. However the sectional breaks are different: **In the Raid version, the story is split into three chapters. Chapter II begins a Biggles takes off for his duel with Wilks. Chapter III begins when Biggles reports to Mullen after meeting the General. There is a thought-break just before Biggles reports to Mullen the second time. **In the Special Air Police version, the story is split into two sections with section II beginning when Biggles sees Mullen after having met the General. Other Research Notes References to the past Incongruities Chronology (see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories) *Biggles says he has been in France for about 11 months. Algy has arrived. This would place the story around October 1917, before Biggles Flies East. *Therefore, the appearance of the Fokker D.VIII is hugely anachronistic, as is a D.VII for that matter. Publication History *''Cockpit'', John Hamilton, August 1934 *''The Raid'', John Hamilton, April 1935 *''Biggles of the Special Air Police'', Thames, 1953 and reprints (as Chapter 13) *Reprinted in Biggles & Co., The W. E. Johns Quarterly Magazine, Number 22, Spring 1995. References Category:Short stories Category:Biggles short stories Category:World War One era short stories